Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
, Australia. In July 2013 the five bus routes it operated were sold to CDC Victoria and was rebranded
CDC Melbourne
CDC Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates 55 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia.
As at 2018, CDC Melbourne was the third-largest commuter ...
afterwards.
History
Driver Brothers was formed in March 1931, when Eric and Reg Driver built two 7 seat
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
**Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic Di ...
s and began operating a service from
Glen Iris railway station
Glen Iris railway station is a commuter railway station in Glen Iris, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The station opened on 24 March 1890 as part of the branch line from Burnley to Waverley Road station.Camberwell. In the 1960s the route was extended to the new
Chadstone Shopping Centre
Chadstone Shopping Centre (colloquially known as Chaddy) is a super regional shopping centre located in the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Malvern East. Chadstone Shopping Centre is the biggest shopping centre in Australia and one of the bi ...
. In 1962 the operation was renamed Driver Bus Lines and at the end of the decade Eric's two sons, Daryl and Gary, joined the business.About Us Driver Group
In 1970, Driver Bus Lines diversified into the coach market and in January 1978 purchased the Camberwell to Box Hill service from RW Curren. In 1986 Shave Bus Service was purchased and renamed Waverley Transit.
In May 1989, the Pioneer Tours Melbourne day sightseeing business was purchased from Pioneer Trailways. In February 1991 Driver Bus Lines was awarded the Gray Line franchise for Melbourne and renamed its sightseeing operation Pioneer Gray Line. In October 1992 the Great Sights sightseeing brand was launched and Melbright Coaches purchased.
In June 1994 Sydney tour operator Great Sights South Pacific was purchased. In July 1996 Driver Bus Lines was renamed Driver Group. In December 1996 Clipper Tours, the Sydney operator of the Gray Line franchise, was purchased. After the Gray Line part of the business was separated, Clipper Tours was resold to Ron Deane in February 1998.
Over the next decade Driver Group would gradually buy the Gray Line Australia franchises in all other capital cities. In October 2010
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Ge ...
operators Balnarring Bus Lines, Coolart Bus & Coach, Mawson's Coaches and Old Tyabb Coaches were purchased adding 29 buses to the fleet.
Driver Group today operates charters originating in Melbourne and operating to destinations around the country, Great Sights day tours in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide and Gray Line Australia day tours in Melbourne,
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
,
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
,
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
and
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
.
In July 2013, the route service business was sold to CDC Victoria with five routes and 42 buses. The operation was integrated into CDC Victoria's subsidiary Eastrans until the latter was rebranded
CDC Melbourne
CDC Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates 55 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia.
As at 2018, CDC Melbourne was the third-largest commuter ...
the following year.
In November 2013 the operation of Gray Line services in Sydney was sub-licensed to
Australia Wide Coaches
Australia Wide Coaches is an Australian coach company operating charter services, an express service between Orange and Sydney and services in Central West New South Wales under contract to NSW TrainLink.
History
Australia Wide Coaches was fou ...
Brands operated by Driver Group include:
*Driver Bus Lines
*
Great Sights
InterCity is a passenger transport and tourism company in New Zealand. Parent company Entrada Travel Group operates the country's only long distance bus network, and ferries and cruises in the Bay of Islands. Its brands are:
*InterCity, New Z ...
*Gray Line Melbourne
* Gray Line
Brands previously used by Driver Group include:
*Driver Brothers
*Driver Coaches
* Clipper Tours
*Gray Line Sydney
*Great Sights South Pacific
*Melbourne Explorer
*Pioneer Gray Line
* Pioneer Tours
*Southern Sights
*Waverley Transit
Brands or companies acquired by Driver Group include:
*Curran's
*Shave Bus Service
Fleet
As at December 2022, Driver Group operated 144 buses and coaches. Driver's fleet livery has long been white and blue. Gray Line coaches are painted white, red and blue.